Sanctuary
by cuz-CM's-awesome
Summary: Morgan human and Garcia human were rather strange creatures…but Sherbet wouldn't have them any other way.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds and I'm not making any profit off this story. **

**This is my entry for the 'Dog Days of Summer Challenge' on Chit Chat on Author's Corner. The pet I received was a hamster and my character is Derek Morgan. **

**I wasn't expecting to get a hamster so this was quite a challenge for me as I've never owned one. **

**However I think it's believable and I hope you enjoy. **

…

My heart is beating like a jackhammer as the big human stares at me through the wiry bars of the cage.

My life up until this point has consisted of loud noises, blinding lights, uncomfortable vibrations in a confined space and a sprinkling of just enough food to keep me alive.

I didn't think my life could get any worse until a few hours ago, when the world beneath me feet was jolted away from me, leaving me sprawled at the bottom of the plastic floored cage. Which was then thrust into the big human's hands and I went on the bumpiest ride of my life.

That was the worst hour and a half of my, so far, short existence.

A little while later I found my cage being placed down onto a counter in a dark room. I could just make out the silhouettes of the big human, and a slightly smaller human, making their way clumsily across the room.

The big human knocked into a table behind him as he pulled off the smaller human's shirt. I could hear him laugh, and then moan as he pulled the smaller human closer to him. They continued across the room and down the hall until they were out of my sight, and I could no longer hear them.

I took a moment to calm myself down and then looked around my new surroundings. I couldn't make out much since it was dark but I could tell that I was in a big room, and that I was very high up.

When I had finally calmed down, I allowed myself to curl up and let the unusual quiet lull me to sleep.

Now I wake up with a start to see the big human staring into my cage at me. My heart starts pumping and my instinct tells me to hide but I have no place to do so.

I edge myself back as far as I can, until I'm pressed up against the back of the cage.

The big man shakes his head "What the hell am I gonna do with a hamster?" his voice rumbles and I can feel myself start to shake. The way my heart is beating I feel like I'm going to drop dead and right now I think I'd welcome it.

The big human straightens and then turns, he walks away and I allow myself to calm down, though I'm still on guard.

I watch as he walks down the hall and out of my sight. I hope he stays away but a moment later he is back and he's holding something up to his ear. I can hear him muttering as he makes his way back over to my cage. He sits down on a tall chair that is in front of my cage and he drums his fingers on the top of the counter my cage is sitting on.

I stare at him unblinkingly; my eyes quickly glance to his fingers and then back to him. My body begins to shake again; I can't help it as it is my instinct.

His voice sends a jolt of fear through me since I wasn't expecting it.

"Garcia," he says, and my brain goes into overdrive wondering exactly what a 'Garcia' is "what do you know about hamsters?"

There is silence for a moment and then the big human chuckles, it sends a shiver through me "Yes you heard me correctly Baby Girl, I have a little bit of a hamster problem."

The big human stands up rather suddenly and my heart practically skips a beat.

"Could you?" I hear him ask as he walks away from me "Awesome, I'll see you soon, bye."

The big human turns to look at me and says "I better go get dressed" before he disappears down the hall again.

I'm left alone.

I stare through the bars of the cage wistfully wishing that I could be on the other side. Being trapped in this small cage has always made me feel vulnerable but at least before I sat on a shelf with other companions.

At least then I wasn't alone.

This new place doesn't seem too bad, not like where I was before with its seizure inducing lights and deafening noises but I have no idea what this big human plans to do with me.

I know all I can do is wait and see what happens, as I already know it is impossible to chew through the bars of my cage and escape. I've already tried that and it was a very painful experience which I do not wish to repeat.

Sometime later I find out exactly what a 'Garcia' is, and I'm not sure what to make of it…or rather her.

A knock on the door brought the big human back into the room as he hurried to open it. I watched tensely as another female human, though I can tell she's not the same one from the night before, steps into the room.

The big human embraces her, before helping her take her coat off and placing it behind yet another door.

The female human looks around the room and her eyes stop on me; my heart begins to beat frantically again as she makes a beeline towards my cage.

"Oh Morgan" she practically squeals "it's so cute!"

The big human, who I guess is called Morgan, comes up behind her "Yeah I guess" he states.

The female human gets up close to the cage and gazes in at me, my tremor returns.

"Where'd you get him?" she asks and her voice seems way too loud to my ears.

"At a carnival last night," the big human explains "I won him after playing the ball toss."

"They gave you a hamster?" the female human asks, sounding surprised "What ever happened to crappy teddy bears and huge stuffed animals?"

"I don't know," the big human says shaking his head "All I know is that when Cindy saw him, she begged me to win him for her, so I did. However when I woke up this morning Cindy was gone and it was still here."

The female human doesn't look pleased by his answer.

"Well it's done now," the big human says "now I've just got to figure out what to do with it."

"For starters," the female human begins "You need to give him a proper name, instead of calling him it."

The big human stares at me stupidly for a moment, I can tell he has no interest in naming me "Well he's fuzzy…how about Fuzzbutt?"

"Morgan!" the female human scolds and I'm now sure that's the name of the big human "He needs a nice name, rather than one you pulled out of your…posterior." She stares and me thoughtfully and somehow at this moment I just know that she's not there to hurt me.

"I like Sherbet" she states.

"Sherbet?" Morgan human asks "as in the frozen dessert?"

"Yep," the female human says "his orange coloring reminds me of orange sherbet."

Morgan human laughs "Garcia you really are something else, but if you like the name than Sherbet it is."

I stare out at the female human, Morgan human called her Garcia and I wonder if that's the name she goes by.

Morgan human runs a hand over his bald head "So?" she asks Garcia human "What now?"

Garcia human places her hand on her hips "Really Morgan…you'd be lost without me" she shakes her head.

Morgan human just smiles.

Garcia human looks back at me "Well we need to buy him a proper cage, as well as some food…god he looks practically emaciated, some toys and it would probably be best to buy a book on the care of hamsters, or we could look that up online."

Morgan human gives her a strange look "I'm not sure if I'm cut out to look after another life, I thought maybe you could take him?"

Garcia shakes her head "He's just a hamster, I'm sure you will be perfectly capable of handling him. Besides Kevin has really bad allergies, he'd kill me if I brought home a hamster."

I see Morgan human tense at the mention of this 'Kevin' and wonder if I should be worried.

"Well we should probably get to a pet shop and pick up everything he will need," Garcia human says "Sherbet is probably starving."

Morgan human places his hands in his pockets, his eyes shift to me before he states "Maybe we should take him to a shelter instead, they could probably find him a more suitable home."

"Morgan you can't!" I jump as Garcia human's voice comes out loud and angry. She turns to face Morgan human, leaving her back to me and I feel as though she is trying to shield me "What if he doesn't go to a new family? What if they put him down instead?"

Morgan human looks like he doesn't know what to say, and I'm not positive what being 'put down' means but based on Garcia human's reaction I have a feeling that it's something bad.

Garcia human looks very sad as she says "Please just keep him here Morgan, I'd take him if it wasn't for Kevin and I'm already quite attached."

Morgan human sighs but then he walks closer to Garcia human and slinks an arm around her, pulling her close "Alright, he can stay but only if you promise to come by and take care of him when I'm on a case."

Garcia human hugs him back "I can do that."

Morgan human kisses Garcia human on the forehead and then states "Let's go get this hamster some supplies."

…

**A/N: This is only the first chapter. I think there will be three in total. **

**Please Review :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Don't Own **

**Please R&R **

**Enjoy! **

…

It's a while before Garcia human and Morgan human come back. When they do they are each carrying to large plastic bags and I watch them curiously.

Garcia human grins over at me as she begins to pull boxes out of her bags. "Just wait until you see what we got for you Sherbet!" she says happily and my eyes examine the very large box that her hand is currently pulling out of the bag.

Morgan human rolls his eyes "I never thought I'd spend so much on a hamster in my life."

"Oh hush," Garcia human says "it will be worth it."

I see Morgan human roll his eyes at Garcia human again but as he turns away from her, to put his own bags down, he smiles.

This behavior seems odd to me and I watch him carefully. I don't understand why he is smiling when just seconds ago he seemed annoyed.

However my attention is drawn away from him when Garcia human lets out a squeal "Oh I can't wait until everything is set up," she says as she pulls open one of the boxes "He'll just love it, I know he will!"

Morgan human chuckles and I wonder what they are talking about.

"Where do you want to put everything?" Garcia human asks.

Morgan human looks around "Well when I originally remodeled the house I never thought I'd be installing a hamster feature, but I'm sure we can find some place that works."

Morgan human walks around the space of the living room, picking up objects and moving them around. Finally he stops and stands unmoving with his hands on his hips. "What about here?" he says gesturing in front of him, though I can't see what he is pointing at as his body is blocking my view.

"I can move the plant and then we can put the cage on the coffee table. It's out of the way so his it won't be constantly walked by and there won't be much chance of anyone knocking into it. It's close to the window so he'll have a nice view, but not too close so he won't end up roasting in the sun during the day. And as a bonus it's a good distance away from the T.V. and sound system so that they won't be a bother to him" Morgan human finished.

Garcia human smiled and walked up beside him, patting his arm "I think it's perfect."

Morgan human turned and smiled down at her. "Great," he said after a few seconds, looking away "let's set it up."

For the next hour I watch as they clean away the space that Morgan human had been gesturing to, and then go through the boxes, pulling things out and putting them together.

My eyesight isn't the greatest, no hamster's is, and with them being all the way across the room I find it hard to see exactly what they are doing. But every once in a while, when either of them move away to get something, I can see the beginnings of what looks like a replica of my cage but bigger.

It also seems to have long, twisting tubes that run from its sides, up and around, connecting it to smaller enclosed spaces.

I feel like I'm straining my eyes as I watch them in amazement.

Finally Morgan human stands up and pulls Garcia human up beside him.

Garcia human looks down at their work and claps her hands together. "Oh it's awesome!" she says and I can hear the excitement in her voice.

She turns and stares at me through my cage, I feel my heart begin to race at the way she looks at me.

"Let's put him in," Garcia human says, giving Morgan human a nudge.

Morgan human nods and then walks towards me. His large hand reaches out and then it's surrounding half my cage. I feel my body begin to shake as he lifts the cage up and I slide slightly to the side because of the way it is angled in his hand.

I can tell he's trying to be gentle and have to fight down the urge to bite at his fingers through the wires of the cage, I doubt he will take kindly to that.

I find I can't keep myself on my feet as he walks the short distance across the room, even with his gentle handling, with the movement it's just too hard to keep myself up.

Then he stops and I allow myself to look out of my small cage. Where he has stopped I can see the new cage that they were building perfectly. I've never seen anything like it before. Up close it is enormous and I get a swooping feeling as Morgan human lowers my cage, opens it and gently nudges me forward where the entrance to the bigger cage is waiting.

As I scurry forward into the bigger cage I can't believe the possibility that this cage is going to be mine. From inside as I look around me at all the space, and tubes, and toys, I think I have died and gone to hamster heaven.

I take a few steps forward, farther into the cage, and stop. I look down at the wood chips on the floor of the cage. They feel different under my feet, but not in a bad way, they feel much cleaner than the dirty, old newspaper shredding the greasy human used to keep us in at the fairground.

They also emit a fresh, natural smell and I find myself having the urge to burrow into them.

I turn around when I hear a noise and realize that Morgan human and Garcia human are still watching me.

Garcia human is staring at me with the brightest smile I've ever seen plastered on her face; she almost looks like she is going to cry.

Morgan human looks pretty happy too. He places his arm over Garcia human's shoulder and pulls her close "Come on," he says "I believe I've worked up my appetite, let me make you lunch while we let Mr. Sherbet get used to his new home."

Garcia human nodded as they both turned to head to the kitchen "That sounds good."

I watch them as they go in disbelief as I wonder what I have done to deserve such amazing humans.

After a while I turn around and begin making my way around the cage. It has so much space I can barely believe it. I don't think I've ever been in a place with so much space before. I remember small glimpses of being with my mom and siblings in a nice little cage that I think was owned by a small human girl. But the next thing I remember is being placed within my small confines by rough, hard hands of the greasy human.

The only other time I left my cage was once every few weeks, after the smell of my soiled shredding became unbearable. Then the greasy human would scoop me up with a grip that was far too tight, and quickly dump the shredding before refilling it and placing me back in.

I mentally shake that particular memory from my brain as I check out the small, round food dish. I've never had a food dish before and I find myself amazed by what exactly is in it. There is an assortment of different food, and there is more of it than I've ever seen in my life.

I practically climb into the bowl as I begin to nibble and graze, trying everything, after months of almost starvation I hadn't even realized how hungry I was.

When I'm done there is still some food left over and again a feeling of disbelief washes over me. I climb out of my food bowl and make my way over to the water bottle that is hanging from the bars of the cage.

I greedily lap at it and love the taste of the cool fresh water.

Once I've had my fill of water I notice something out of the corner of my eye and scurry over to take a look. It's a giant wheel and I stare at it in awe.

Sir Lancelot, an older hamster that lived in the cage beside mine, was the only hamster I knew at the fairgrounds that had ever had a real home before. He used to tell me such interesting stories about his humans. How he had a large cage with toys that he could chew on and soft bedding that he could crawl into before he went to sleep.

He told me how the small humans used to pick him up and allow him to run freely on the outside of the cage while they were watching him. How they would play with him and pet him.

I used to love listening to his stories, especially the story he told of the giant wheel that he used to run in every morning before the small humans came to play with him.

While I listened to him I day dreamed of a time where I too could live in a big cage and have humans of my own to play with.

Sometimes on really bad days at the fairgrounds I would wonder if the stories Sir Lancelot was telling me were too good to be true. I would think that maybe Sir Lancelot was just dreaming, that he was just making up these incredible stories to get him through the day at the fairgrounds.

But now standing here, staring up at the large wheel which gleams in the light, I know that every word Sir Lancelot told me was truer than anything I've ever experienced in my life.

Just as I'm about to step forward and climb onto the wheel for the first time, I feel a presence behind me and quickly turn to stare out of the cage.

It's Garcia human, she's gotten down on her knees and she's grinning at me through the bars. I slowly make my way towards her, my little nose twitching as I familiarize myself with her unique sent.

"Hey little Sherbet," she says in a sing song voice "I've got to get home now but I'll come back and visit you soon."

I stare at her in confusion; I don't understand why she means to leave. She mentioned her home, but isn't this her home. I thought Garcia human and Morgan human were going to be my humans from now on, why was she planning on leaving?

Garcia human sticks her finger through the cage and moves it up and down like she's waving. "Bye little guy," she says "I hope you have fun in your new home."

Then she withdraws her finger and gets to her feet. After one last look at me she turns, gives Morgan human a quick hug and leaves.


	3. Chapter 3

**Don't Own. **

**Please R&R **

**Enjoy! **

…

I soon learned that Morgan human was gone more often than not, and his absences were irregular and impossible to follow. He would leave in the morning after filling my food bowl and I wouldn't know when he would be home until he came back.

I did miss him when he left but I was never lonely. Whenever Morgan human was gone I could always count on Garcia human coming by, at least once a day.

She also came around when Morgan human was there, but it was far less often, and I always found myself missing her company.

It wasn't that I liked her more than Morgan human; it's just that they treated me differently.

Morgan human was nice and he would sometimes sit by my cage and talk to me but he never tried to handle me.

Other hamsters out there might think I'm crazy when I say I like the human interaction. Sir Lancelot used to tell me that the only thing he could remember disliking about his home was that sometimes the small humans handled him more often than he would have liked and could be too rough at times. But I never found Garcia human's touch to be too frequent or too rough.

She was always very gentle with me. Sometimes she would take me out of my cage and sit with me on the couch. She would put me on her lap and let me wander around. However she never let me go too far. If I ever ended up at the edge, she would gently pick me back up and place me in the middle again.

I didn't mind it when she did this. I liked being out of my cage every once in a while, but the world outside it was big and I imagine it would be a scary place to get lost.

Garcia human would come over at least once a day when Morgan human was gone and she always stayed at least an hour.

There was only one time that she came by and ended up spending only a few minutes with me.

That was the day I met Kevin human.

I was in my cage chewing on my wood chew; it was a new addition to my cage. Garcia human had bought it for me the day before, which was another thing that Garcia human did that Morgan human didn't. Garcia human would always bring me new toys and new treats. Even new tubing that she would attach to my cage so I had more room to explore.

Anyways…as I was munching away the door to the apartment opened and in walked Garcia human. She looked flustered and she was talking to herself.

At least I thought that was what she was doing until another human appeared behind her.

He was shorter than Morgan human and he didn't hold himself the same way at all. Morgan human was always standing tall, while this human was slightly slouched over. He was looking around the room with an ugly little sneer plastered on his face.

"Really Kevin," Garcia human was saying and I was instantly on alert. I remembered the first time this name had been mentioned and how Morgan human had stiffened. Plus Morgan human had mentioned him a few other times since then, always with distaste. "You don't have to come in; I'll only be a few minutes."

"Oh don't worry Penny, I don't mind," Kevin human stated his tone unfriendly. I felt my hairs puff out as I moved to the back of the cage. I didn't like this human and I had been around plenty of bad humans in my life to know which ones to stay away from.

"So this is where Agent Morgan seduces his prey when he's not on a case" Kevin human sneered.

Garcia human shot him an annoyed look.

He held up his hands in front of him as a gesture of peace as Garcia human glared at him.

Then she walked into the kitchen and got my bag of hamster food from the cupboard.

"Here we are little Sherbet," she said walking over to my cage and opening its hatch. She reached her hand in and poured a handful of food into my bowl.

I was watching her when I felt a shadow pass over the cage and I looked up to see Kevin human was standing over it.

"So this is the furball that takes up all of my girl's free time" he said as he squatted down and peered into my cage.

I sat tensely, as far to the back as I could.

"He doesn't do much" Kevin human said.

Garcia human shook her head, "You're probably just scaring him."

She moved her hand from my food dish and then petted me softly on the head before removing her hand completely.

Without closing the cage door she turned to pick up my water bottle so she could refill it.

The next moment another hand was invading my cage but this time it belonged to Kevin human. He was moving it right toward me, one finger outstretched and I began to shake.

I didn't want him touching me. So I puffed myself up and chirped at him, making sure I stayed as far away from his hand as I could.

However he wasn't deterred. Soon his finger was in my face and he was reaching to pet me.

My instincts took over and I bit down on his finger.

He let out a howl and pulled his hand out but I didn't let go.

He shook his hand, hard, in order to dislodge me and I went flying to the floor where I landed with the quietest of thuds.

Shaken I scampered to the small opening under the couch and hid.

"That little rat bit me!" I could hear Kevin human ranting "Look. Look it's even bleeding!"

"Oh Kevin," I heard Garcia human say "you shouldn't have stuck you're hand in there, he was scared."

Kevin human grunted "Whatever, I'm going to wait in the car before I drip blood all over Agent Morgan's precious carpet."

I heard him moving to the door as Garcia human's voice called out "Wait Kevin, where did Sherbet go?" her voice was panicked.

"How the hell should I know?" Kevin human said his voice getting father away "I was focused on getting my finger back from the rabid little bastard, not on his safety."

And then he was gone and I heard nothing.

Finally I heard a sob and wondered why Garcia human was crying.

I thought maybe she was mad at me for biting her friend and now she was going to get rid of me.

"Oh Sherbet," she said and her voice was shaky "where did you go?"

I heard her footsteps as she moved around. I wasn't sure how long it had been but then her face appeared at the gap of the couch.

My body was still quaking as she gently reached in and scooped me up, I didn't put up a fight.

"Oh you poor little thing" she whispered as she carried me back to my cage and placed me inside.

As soon as I was out of her hand I scampered up one of the tubes in my home and up to a small loft area that was also filled with wood chips, it was enclosed with plastic and it's where I felt my safest.

Garcia human sighed, she replaced my water bottle and left.

When the door opened again that night I feared it was Kevin human coming back but was soon relieved to see it was Morgan human.

He dropped his bag and walked over to my cage.

"Hey Sherbet," he said pulling over a chair and sitting down in front of my cage "I heard you bit Lynch today."

I titled my head for a moment until I realized that he must be talking about Kevin human, I had heard him use this Lynch name before too but I had never realized they were the same person.

A huge smile broke out on Morgan human's face "My man…or well hamster, but you get the point."

Then he laughed "Well you're a hamster so you probably don't but I'm proud of you. That little creep deserved it. He definitely doesn't deserve Penelope."

Then he sighed and rubbed a hand over his head. "Well anyways, I got you this." With that he pulled a honey and sunflower seed block chew out of his pocket and opened my cage to place it in.

It was the first time he had ever bought me anything other than my initial cage and my hamster food.

I didn't move from the loft area but I felt better knowing that Morgan human was home.

…

It took me a few days to come out of the loft.

I was rather shaken and I feared leaving the loft in case something like the Kevin human incident happened again.

I could tell that Morgan human was worried about me and he sat with me more often than he had before, just talking.

I liked listening to his voice but I still didn't want to leave the loft.

On the second day Garcia human arrived, she looked sadly in at me and I could see tears in her eyes.

"Oh Sherbet, I'm so sorry" Garcia human said.

I just sat there staring at her.

"He's been there for two days?" she asked Morgan human.

"Yep, hasn't moved, not even to eat or drink" he replied.

Garcia human sat down in a huff "I can't believe this."

"Well what did you expect?" Morgan human said "your boyfriend threw him to the floor after scaring the daylights out of him. Of course he's acting like this."

Garcia human glared at him "This isn't Kevin's fault."

"Well whose fault is it then?" Morgan human asked.

Penelope rubbed her temples "Mine I guess, I should have made Kevin stay in the car."

"Don't you dare," Morgan human growled and Garcia human stared up at him blankly "As much as I hate the thought of Lynch being in my apartment, don't you blame yourself for this incident, that idiot should have known not to stick his hand in Sherbet's cage."

Garcia human glared at Morgan human "Don't call Kevin an idiot! He didn't know Sherbet was going to bite him, how could he have known that?"

"What? He doesn't have any common sense?" Morgan human threw at her "He's an idiot and he got what was coming to him."

"Morgan you…you complete ass!" Garcia human hissed standing up and hurrying out the door.

Morgan human called out to her but she didn't come back, then he sat down with sigh "I am an ass aren't I?" he asked out loud.

I just stared blankly at him.

The next morning before Morgan human got up, I came out of the loft; I was hungry and no longer felt scared.

I made my way to my food bowl and ate my fill.

Morgan human walked into the room as I was lapping at my water bottle.

When he saw me he grinned and walked over "Hey buddy, you feeling better?"

I stared up at him for a moment and then started chewing on the honey and sunflower seed block he had bought me.

He clapped his hands together and smiled "I better call Garcia…" he trailed off and his smile faded "except I tried to call her last night and left her a message but she didn't call me back."

…

That happened a few days ago and Garcia human still hasn't come over.

Well at least not while Morgan human is here.

She still comes over to see me when Morgan human is gone and was excited to see me out of the loft.

But she is always gone before Morgan human gets home and is dodging his calls.

I can tell that Morgan human is really depressed and I hope Garcia human forgives him soon.


End file.
